Spider

Not sure what to say about that sorry 😞 I've resynced the this forum which should (if it was there) fix it. It seems it was not saved. There's nothing in the logs recently about any errors. I have on random occasion have it happen with a PM reply but not the forum itself (but the editor is the same thing)

Thanks for sharing that. 🙂 Appreciate learning. Out of interest, and its fine to ignore , were the other games platformers as well ? I ask as I had a go at making MM and JSW without using any existing code aside from graphics and only did a couple of screens on each, they are vaguely just about "running" but not playable! 😞 😄 I'd assume AMOS probably has a reasonable following even now maybe its own forum/site given how good it potentially was. 'Way back' I did purchase Laser Basic complete with its green paper manual (discourage copying I guess but it was hard to read) although that had some neat things it was very slow even when compliled with the Laser Compiler which I obtained much later. I know there's better things and were then like Beta Basic perhaps. The inline assembly sounds good, a bit like BBC Basic where you can do a bit inside the listing itself if i recall correctly. I'm not sure I've only done about 5 or 6 text adventure conversions (Spectrum to BBC) about ten years ago, they were relatively well received though, complete with original ZX version bugs aside from one that made it almost impossible to complete one game! Something for another time and another place perhaps but you'll find them on stardot if really curious. Never tried VB although I've been told I probably should. The newer MPAGD looks half the way to go now, write once and tweak a bit and release for ZX / BBC / CPC / CBM etc. I've not had chance to look properly! I do have the (yes I paid) the PGD and SEUD Spectrum tapes but again no real time for them, many plans , so little time! 🙂

Ah OK. 🙂 That was a complete guess about AMOS being used for it. I had heard "good things" but it was at a time when coding was not really "for me" , yes like many tools it could of been so much more... oh well.

Its still beyond what I could do. Even if (for example) I spent a month studying AMOS (was it called that, I can't remember) and tried to replicate some of it.

A look shows he has Chuckie Egg playthrough's for Spectrum / Amstrad / Amiga / Atari 8bit . Shame the BBC Micro version is not there actually as that is quite good (honest) Talking of that, this is quite contencious perhaps 😮 I've not watched it yet... MANIC MINER vs CHUCKIE EGG (ZX) - WHICH IS BEST? Or this... MANIC MINER vs JSW II: WHICH IS BEST?

Quite a few interesting routes/choices taken however they do mean (and credit to the author/player) less risk. As it was done on a real machine without any cheating at all, its good to see. 🙂

No cheating, no rollbacks. Like all the authors video's there is commentary but its not overdone, just enough without spoiling it.

I did not receive a reply to my enquiry about this to the map author (but I think that's partly my fault now, I've emailed today instead!) so I took a screenshot of the correct title screen, resized it and applied it to the "map" I posted earlier, which for reference can be found in this post I made no other changes to the image, save for 'whiting out' the playing keys from my screenshot before applying it to correct the incorrect one, and took the whole lot at maximum display size (1688x1336) EDIT... The map author has now updated the image on their site too. 🙂

Yes as far as I know, and still sealed. Which means (to me) they have not been on shop display as at least around here "back then" they'd display just the inlay minus tape and this case minus the code card too! , There's an interesting story about that in my case but its for another time. I have seen 4 maybe 5 years ago some sealed C64 JSW tapes, but not the ZX ones...

From MobyGames. Some of the text below is from MobyGames as well as my own notes: Machine: CBM Amiga Requirements: It is listed for A1200 so quite likely needs the "AGA" chipset (instead of the 'OCS') to function. It might work on the 'ECS' set. Untested. Creation Tool: Believed to be authored with the creation tool AMOS Company: F1-Licenceware Authors: Coding: Richard Williams , Graphics/Music: Steven Tate , Contributors: Gary Waterhouse, David Stephenson, Stuart Moore, Kelvin Hunter, Mark Craig, Keith Rogers (unconfirmed list) Status: Freeware / Public Domain (unconfirmed) Notes: Its a flip screen as per the original unlike the other Amiga release which is a continuous scrolling layout. It also has a built in 'snapshot' feature allowing the player to save their progress at any time. Gameplay (MobyGames): The plot of the game is a little different to the original JSW, but the gameplay is practically identical. The hero Willy is fast asleep and trapped in a nightmare about his enormous mansion being full of monsters, and must collect a large number of magical items before he can wake up. The first room shows Willy both simultaneously asleep in bed, and as a ghostly white figure walking around the room, like an astral projection. (This explains why Willy's sprite is still a solid-white figure, as in the original ZX Spectrum game, even though every other sprite is now more detailed and colourful.) Magical items are always identified by changing colour rapidly. Almost anything that moves can harm Willy, and so can some static elements, like spikes and skulls. Staircases are depicted as diagonal lines of pixels, and Willy will automatically start climbing a staircase if he walks onto it, but if you jump as you approach a staircase he will pass through it instead. There are also conveyor belts that move Willy in a certain direction, false walls hiding the entrance to secret rooms, and switches that change the state of the world in some way. Note: That seems more in the theme of "Pyjamamara" in that you're trying to 'wake' him up. Known (built in) cheat: Download: Not currently checked for this. Link: The page on MobyGames is here Screenshots:

I can't recall if I'd posted this a while back but anyway: Was from FB. 😮

Was never really able to get anywhere with Costa, I found it too confusing!

😄

I fully concur with this. 🙂

I concur with that 100%

It does seem a legal minefield as mentioned.

Has anyone noticed the images in the trademark, the M.W character looks more like the 'Colonel', referred to in the instructions (yes I still have this from 'back then') in Roller Coaster ? , the 'hat' especially. I don't suppose that point matters in this case however, it was pointed out a while ago I think elsewhere.

Thinking about this , the figures (as best as I can tell) are the same height as the ones in the 'multicolour' display units offered a while back. Having said that, a few of those small plastic 'craft' tiles say 1cmx1cm in a choice of your own colour and a blob or three of superglue and you could make something without the expense of a 3D printer, it would not be as good, but it would be "home made" 😄

Ah yes, that does explain a few things. Usual ways around it if needed, just more work. Most welcome.

From the FB group "Central Cavern" , who linked to this YouTube video. I was going to download it but although I was successful at this, I was not able to get a high-res version with any audio, hence it being a remote video at the moment. Note: Not fully watched or checked for factual accuracy...

Yes despite what is said it still seems to be a minefield unfortunately 😞 Having said that has anyone ever had any concerns with releasing any electronic items (aka: software) completely free of charge ? Not giving licence by saying this, merely my observations... Although slightly off topic, I'm curious on physical sales too, items like t-shirts / mugs / badges etc featuring M.W... I suspect these may attract more attention as theirs 'commercial gain' perhaps.

Something I stumbled on when doing a general websearch for something completely unrelated: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/991170663/retro-gaming-manic-miner-jet-set-willy Never used that site, items possibly on Ebay too, I've not checked. Just thought it may be interesting enough to post. 😄

Its probably worth you experimenting a bit with the "128" or "64" perhaps variants in JSWED to see what you think. In particular guardians have a bit more erm 'freedom' as such.

From Spectrum Computing: Sorry quotes are a bit broken, incompatible parsing formats between here and there.

I like that 🙂 Also an unexpected bonus , The Bank now can show all its items instead of it being (for reasons unknown, I'm not sure if Matt would recall if I did ask him) that only 3 items are shown, despite 5 being defined. To be fair one in the yellow water grid cell needs tweaking to make it collectable if it did appear there, so I guess maybe just maybe that was part of the reason. Not sure on 16th Cavern awol 5th item though (in original game)